Absolute Batman Goes on Hiatus This Fall - But Scott Snyder's Beyond Ark-M Special Has One Last Surprise

DC's Absolute Batman is taking an unusual break. Issue #25 ships in October, and then the ongoing goes dark until #26 arrives in January 2027, with the main storyline not picking back up until February. Filling that gap is a one-shot: Absolute Batman: Beyond Ark-M, out November 18 from series architect Scott Snyder and co-writer Frank Tieri, with art from Francesco Francavilla and Joshua Hixson.

The special digs into the network of black sites - the "Arks" - that the Joker's operation has been running across the globe, with stops in Santa Prisca, Russia, China, and Brazil before circling back to Gotham. Jack Grimm moves through the facilities over the course of the issue, and Snyder has teased it will reveal characters who were "formed in these, or being held in these." The book also doubles as an origin story for Professor Pyg within the Absolute Universe, giving the villain his first real spotlight since the line launched.

Snyder has stayed cagey about specifics, but he's promised the one-shot ends on "a really big surprise" that he expects will have readers talking about where Absolute Batman goes when it resumes next year. Given how much traction this corner of the Absolute Universe has already generated - million-copy sales milestones, sold-out printings, auction-house money for original art - a three-month gap between issues is a real gamble, but a Snyder-written bridge issue teasing a game-changing reveal is a reasonable way to keep readers hooked until February.

Source: Bleeding Cool